Folau channels Campese

Jack Dempsey played the last 30 minutes of the Sydney Rays game.Source:Getty Images

JACK Dempsey came through his first match in 11 months in flying colours on Saturday in what could turn out to be a gamebreaker for the Wallabies’ prospects at next year’s World Cup.

Playing for the first the time since he ripped his hamstring clean off the bone at the end of last year, the 24-year-old looked like his old self in a busy 30-minute appearance for the Sydney Rays at Woollahra Oval.

“I’m pretty happy with the first outing,” he said.

“Once you’re out there and you get that first touch everything’s back to normal.

Jack Dempsey played the last 30 minutes of the Sydney Rays game.Source:Getty Images

“It’s just like riding a bike really. I’m just keen to get another on the board and get my contact fitness up and get my game fitness back and I’ll be back to normal very soon.”

One of Australia’s hottest young prospects after being named man of the match in the Wallabies third Test win over New Zealand last year, Dempsey’s world came crashing down when he seriously injured his hamstring against the Barbarians.

What was initially expected to be a four to five month rehabilitation dragged out for almost a year and it was only this week that he was finally cleared to make his comeback.

“I felt really good coming on for the first five (minutes) then I hit a bit of a wall there which is obvious when you’ve been our that long just in terms of the lungs,” he said.

“The legs felt a bit jelly but I kind of hit that second wind and was feeling pretty good by the end.

“All through rehab in the dark times you ask yourself whether you’ll be the same type of player when you get back so it’s good to know I’ve got a lot of explosiveness still in my game

“But that will just get even better as I get my fitness up so it’s all looking good from here.”

Although the Rays were comprehensively beaten 61-40 by Brisbane City led by Quade Cooper and Karmichael Hunt, Dempsey’s impact on the game was clear from the moment he came on.

The Rays were already 49-19 behind when he ran on 10 minutes into the second half, but outscored the visitors 21-12 in the last half hour while he was on the paddock.

Rays coach Chris Whitaker said Dempsey ticked all the boxes in his return but said there wouldn’t be any rush to get him into the starting lineup because his comeback needed to be carefully managed to ensure he get backs to the highest level.

“He went real good,” Whitaker said.

“There are some guys that are just at a different level and when ‘Demo’ came on, you can tell he’s at a different level.

“He’s worked too hard for 11 months to not look at every single detail of his return for the sake of one game.

“He’s 100 percent keen but he’s one of those guys that just wants to play footy but that’s why we have medical staff.”